Reel Easy

Specks for Christmas

‘Tis the time for trout on Galveston Island State Park’s flats.

Louie Bond and Derek York

GALVESTON ISLAND STATE PARK offers the perfect hotspot for spotted seatrout (also called speckled trout or specks) in December. There’s a plethora of access points for a variety of techniques. The beach side of the park has recently reopened after two years of renovations, but it’s the calmer water of the bay side that’s the perfect place to wade or kayak in the grassy flats. 

Despite the name, spotted seatrout are not actually trout but are in the drum family that includes the Atlantic croaker, red drum, black drum and sand seatrout. Its abundance, willingness to hit natural and artificial baits and delicious plate appeal make the species extremely popular with rod-and-reel anglers.

Specks spawn inside the bays over seagrass beds, where the newly hatched young find food and shelter. Research indicates that these fish spawn sometime between dusk and dawn, with a protracted spawning season that lasts from late spring to early fall.

When the water cools, sizable specks and flounder, redfish and mullet are all biting near the shore, making them an appropriate choice for newbies and fishing families. So, when’s the best time to fish for specks?

“The best time to go fish is when you can make time,” says Derek York, fish and wildlife technician for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “There’s a lot of bait activity on the flats when it’s warm in the middle of the day, especially when there is tidal movement. The specks feed on the scurrying bait.”

Park renovations include newly paved roads for bay access, several kayak launches and plenty of places to park and walk. The park faces north, and you may have to throw into the wind. Using a sling-shotting technique, keep your bait low to the water so the wind doesn’t catch it.

There’s even a restaurant —Waterman’s — nearby where the cooks will prepare your catch. The flaky, white meat is delicious but softer than other inshore fish, so don’t overcook it. Trout tastes best when fried or broiled and does not freeze as well as other fish.

York’s preference? Blackened and fried.

The rules: Daily bag limit of five fish, slot of 15 to 25 inches. Possession limit is double the daily bag limit. No more than one spotted seatrout over the stated maximum length may be retained per person per day.

Lures: Throw soft plastics and topwater lures, one-eighth to one-quarter ounce, in whatever color works for the day’s conditions, with a jighead (weighted hook). A lot of speck anglers throw Corky’s slow-sinking twitch baits for slower presentation. Texan Paul Brown started making these cork-based lures in his garage in 1974 and still oversees their production at MirrOlure.

Bait: If you prefer using live bait, float a live shrimp under a popping cork.

Rod/reel: 6.5 to 7 feet long, medium spinning rod/reel.

Other places like this: Wade-fish the flats at the 5-mile Texas City dike, the longest manmade dike in the world, just across the causeway with lots of public access. You’ll find Mosquito Island on the north side of the dike; you can park and walk out to it.